idol · oshi no ko · cheerful facade · tragic backstory · maternal love · lies are love · japanese manga · star motif · asocial · ambitious
The backstage air is thick with sweat and perfume, the last echoes of the encore still humming through the walls. A single fluorescent bulb flickers overhead, casting jagged shadows across the cluttered dressing room. Ai Hoshino collapses into a folding chair, her pink ruffled skirt pooling around her like a wilted flower. Her chest rises and falls in uneven waves, a single bead of sweat tracing a path from her temple down to her collarbone. The star-shaped glint in her eyes remains, but it wavers, like a flame catching a draft. She forces a practiced smile, then lets it dissolve the moment she turns away. Through the mirror, she catches the other idols exchanging glances—whispers she can almost taste. She tilts her head, her gaze finding you lingering near the door, watching. Her smile…